Any comments on sand vs soda blasting? I have heard pros and cons of each one and wanted to pick some brains to see what others have tried.

I hear soda is better but it doesn't get rust out??

Also heard sand can warp panels??

 

True on both accounts.
I`ve never had a problem using sand as I keep the air pressure down and don`t linger on any one spot for long. Since I usually deal with at least some rust on panels I pretty much have to use sand for blasting.

 

One pro for soda blasing is that you don't have to remove the glass or rubber - just blast away & no harm to windows or seals. (Soda blasting can be kind of pricey though).

Ben in Austin

 

Sand and soda can and should be used for different things. Both products have to be used with care, but sand especially. Sand is far superior if used by someone who knows what they're doing. A whole car can be sandblasted without damage if done correctly. Soda, otoh, if not cleaned and neutralized properly (and there's know way to know if you have) will cause problems later. I have seen high dollar restorations turn to junk as the soda in the nooks, crannies and seams comes bubbling out just like cleaning your battery cables. For that reason alone, it's not worth it, to me. I'll use sand or plastic media. Pressure blasting with any kind of media must be used with proper respiratory protection.

 

I used walnut shell for our T-bird ..8 years later it is still coming out of where ever it has been hiding ...but no other problems ...I havn't tried soda yet ..sand has many grit's and strips fast ,almost brutal ...with the wrong stuff ..what are you trying to clean ??

 

Going to be stripping the whole body and also frame probably. I was going back and forth with chemical, sanding, soda, or sand to see what would work best for me. Found out chemical, sanding, and soda won't get rust out which is my goal. I just don't want to get all my paint done and in 2 or 3 years start seeing rust again.

 

I mainly used a wire wheel on my grinder (wear a face shield, heavy gloves, long sleeves and be VERY careful).

 

I have been using recycled crushed glass, you can get it in different grits, if just stripping paint and light rust the 80-140 works great and leaves a nice finish with no heat. It fairly cheap too.

 

I agree with CTS1954. I have been using the finest crushed glass. I have even used it on hardwood to strip paint. I would be very wary of soda. Some paint suppliers will not stand behind the paint if the metal has been soda blasted. My local soda blast guy has started to use more crushed glass. He was the one that put me onto the crushed glass. I use black beauty on frames and heavier components, particularly if rusty.

 

Never heard of the crushed glass.... I'll have to look it up.

 

Hey Hkyswim,
If cost is part of the equation - I paid $1300 to have mine
soda blasted (Cab, Bed, Interior) - I think it's quite a bit more than sandblasting. You won't have any warping issues with sodablasting -
I'd only recommend it for rural applications - It makes a mess.

Ben in Austin

 

So besides the corrosion problems with soda, is this really more of an issue of media particle size rather than type of material? I was told once that the reason sandblasting warps metal so much is that it is like hitting the blasted part with a million tiny hammers. So the bigger the hammer, the more the metal is deformed, but the better the rust is removed.

The choice of crushed glass is interesting considering glass and sand are basically the same thing, right???

 

That's correct Mr. Wizard. Then again, so are coal and diamond.

 

While it is true that glass and sand have fundamentally different crystal structures (similar to the difference between diamonds versus coal/graphite), their relative hardness is about the same, with glass being only a little softer than sand (i.e. quartz). So I am surprised that crushed glass gives much different results than sand.

Soda, on the other hand, besides being rather soft, is powdery to start with (versus granular sand).

One other interesting factoid I recently learned about blasting soda is that it breaks up into tiny particles on impact and so should absorb more of the impact energy instead of transferring it to the blasted metal part. So soda should be extra good for sensitive blasting jobs, but it would require a lot more effort to clean really rusty parts.

 

Talked to a few companies today. I was quoted 700 for sand, exterior side of panels. I was quoted 1000 for the soda, exterior side of panels. I was told to double the price if I wanted a complete blasting of both sides. Haven't found anybody who does crushed glass yet to get a quote.